Exploring the Wilderness of Southern Ontario

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I have been turkey hunting for close to 5 years now, but haven’t really had any success until the last few years. Of course this has nothing to do with my hunting ability (or lack thereof)…right? Instead, I choose to attribute my new found success to the property I now hunt and three years of turkey hunting with some skilled fellow hunters. These gents grew up hunting the fields, hardwoods and shield ridges of the area and they seem to know the local wildlife like the back of their hands. They taught me the sounds to listen for, animal habits and patterns, how to call and basically all the tid-bits of information required to understand how to Turkeys. Exposure to seasoned individuals like these was exactly the thing I needed in order to cut my turkey teeth. I’m certain it is this experience by osmosis that eventually led to my first successful solo turkey hunt and the harvesting of my second bird of the year (my first Tom).

Turkey #1

We started out around 5 am, and headed into the woods on one of our favorite properties to hunt. The property was a mix of active agricultural lands, small pasture and hay fields, and a large maple bush located next to a small lake. This is a dream mix for turkey hunters and we often encounter many birds here during deer season.

Despite the perfect habitat and some promising gobbles, we struck out that morning. Deflated yet still optimistic we returned to our vehicles. I wasn’t quite done though and decided to head to another area at about 10 am where we had harvested turkeys in the past. I settled in to a rhythm of short nap, wake up, call, repeat… After about the third cycle I woke up to see three birds staring at my hen and strutter decoys from about 30 yards away. my gun lay on the grass beside me and my decoys were between me and the birds. This was going to be tricky.

Thankfully the birds milled about behind some tree cover as they continued to size up the strutter, reluctant to make a move on the hen. This gave me a few periodic moments where I could inch the gun up to my shoulder and take a shot. Moments later, a Jake was down and my yearly tradition of wild turkey for mothers day dinner was saved.

The following Friday, my co-worker came into my office around 11 and casually joked about leaving early. I looked up from my work and paused. There was an awkward moment of silence where our minds started to process the possibility of actually following through with this. Were my projects caught up? Did I have any meetings later that day? Our mutual realization that we actually could take the afternoon off started to become obvious and our conversation changed into more of a “how to” than a “should we”.

Fast forward, we returned to the clearing where I shot my first Jake hoping the other two would still be there. Again, we settled into the short nap, wake up, call regime… Things were quiet with the exception of a group of flickers that seemed to be playing in the clearing. Then a barred owl chimed in and the game changed dramatically.

An immediate gobble sounded from further in the woods. The owl sounded off. The gobbler returned in kind. I struck up the box call and let out a series of 4-5 yelp kee-kees, which at first, didn’t seem to be phasing the gobbler at first. The owl went quiet and suddenly the gobbler started to take an interest and began returning my calls. After about 3 round of this I let off the call and waited. The gobbler seemed to be getting closer and continued to gobbler in efforts of attracting our non existent hen. Moments later I made visual contact and excitedly reported to Dave that there were two birds and both were sizable. I continued with some light putting and purring and the birds continued to advance, albeit at a snails pace. Finally they were both in view, the smaller bird taking my left shooting lane and the bigger sticking to the right. We began a count down to shooting and were about to pull the trigger when the birds decided to cross paths. The larger decided to trade places with the smaller and the shot clock was back on. 3, 2, 1….My big bird was down and the smaller bird was off into the wind.

Despite missing out on the double, the experience was good fun and full of lessons to be learned. I’ve done my best to summarize these below in order to help out other beginners out there.

My Tips

1) Turkey hunting is an all day affair. Mornings, as exciting as they are with all the calling and hootenanny, don’t hold a monopoly on bird harvests. My solo bird was harvested around 10:55 am.

2) Remember the location of every bird you locate. You may not connect with it on your first encounter, but knowing its general vicinity can go along way to help you harvest it at a later time or day.

3) Be quiet. Be still. Be Patient. A gobbler may stop calling back, but that doesn’t mean he has stopped looking for you. Patience kills turkeys.

4) Turkeys don’t always come in loud and aggressive. Be ready for the subtle silent approach. My bird came in with a group of jakes and didn’t make a peep.

I honestly marvel at the endless variety hunting provides. I hunt with the same group of folks every year. We run the same pieces of property, and often sit in the very same stands. That’s alot of the same. Even still, will things being so similar, things rarely ever play out the same way.

This year was no different. Similar to previous years, our efforts in 2017 began by running what is arguable the crowning jewel of the cadre of properties available to us. Natural pinch points connecting large tracts of undisturbed woods make this a magnet for deer. Not to mention there is a small lake present and plenty of close by fields for forage. When considered in context with the quality of habitat, it is no wonder that we have taken many a deer of this property. After a brief hike in, I sat up smack dab in the middle of one of the pinch points; the same stand where I harvested my very first deer.

I settled in for the 3-4 hour run, when almost immediately, the dogs began to bawl out their sounds of excitement indicating they found a scent. Gun at the ready I closed my eyes and opened my ears. As most seasoned deer hunters will tell you, stillness is a hunters best friend, and I find nothing makes you still like closing your eyes and opening your ears. I was shaken awake by a rumbling in the bush directly ahead of me which consistently grew louder. The noise peaked as three large black shapes appeared through the brush dead ahead. Recognition kicked in as I realized those shapes were a mother black bear and her two cubs.

I grew up with stories about how defensive mother bears could be. Lots of stories included hunters who got between a mother and cubs and ended up having to deal with a charging mama bear. My gun was raised and my mind nervously recounted these stories. I stayed patient and watched the mother through the sights of my rifle. Thankfully, her only interest was evading the barking hounds behind me and she casually passed to my right about 15 yards away.

We ended up taking a deer on that run, as we have many times before. Even though I didn’t shoot the deer, I was strangely satisfied with my close encounter and my forced re-evaluation of common bear behavior.

The experience definitely made for a memorable hunt. Pics below.

Cheers from the wild,

Albert

The kids even decided to come up to check out the last day of the hunt.

Another successful year.

Even the kids were interested in the deer.

And of course, the four wheeler!

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Our recent trek into the woods occurred on a parcel of crown land about 45 minutes north of Kingston. We planned to spend the weekend hunting for grouse on the trails and the opening morning of waterfowl in a duck blind a few minutes paddle from our campsite.

On the hike in we ran across loads of deer, bear and moose sign. This area seemed to be pretty vibrant with wildlife. We even got a shot at a fleeing grouse.

This was the furthest north I had ever duck hunted and was immediately surprised when a flock of wood ducks flew in hard and fast to our spread. Being a mallard hunter from the lake Ontario corridor, I was conditioned to think that there were no other species of puddle duck in Ontario.

The woodies provided a good challenge for our group. They are somewhat smaller than a mallard and fly a bit faster making them tougher to hit. still, we managed a few birds. Enough for a taste and more than enough to keep us coming back.

Bachelor Parties. A time in a persons life where they celebrate the single lifestyle one last time before they take the plunge into marriage. For many this means bars, strip clubs, drinking, maybe even gambling. However recennt trends seem to be leaning towards trips that are somewhat more memorable. Canoe trips into the wild, summiting a mountain, renting heavy equipment and going to town in a field for a weekend. It seems sharing a mutually enjoyable and memorable experience is the new thing.

I recently found myself taking part in the planning of a bachelor party for a good friend, and felt the need to come up with an experience that was memorable, surprising and exciting all rolled into one. The groom (Jamie) had recently discovered his love for fishing which naturally led me towards the idea of a fishing charter. With the salmon and trout season still in full swing on Lake O, my choice was almost predetermined. After convincing the other BP attendees that getting up at 3:00 am was a good idea, we booked the charter with Joe from Salmon Tracker Charters and set about thinking of a way to get the groom to the boat.

The day of party arrived, and the goom and I made our way towards Ajax under some pretty solid false pretenses and directed him towards Frenchman Bay Marina where he conveniently bumped into his father, brother, and two close friends. All waiting in the parking lot with a tied look in their eyes and a cooler full of snacks.

We met on C Dock and boarded a beautiful boat that comfortably seated six plus the captain. Joe as courteous and knowledgeable and quickly familiarized us with the boat and the days itinerary. Joe came highly recommended by my Uncle, who guided on Lake O for salmon and trout for many years. In my opinion, if my uncle recommends you, that means you have some serious street cred in the fishing community.

Joe’s boat was perfect for 6 blokes looking to score some big fish, and Joes prowess as a captain would live up to the luxury of his boat. Joe had two games plans, stick close for staging king salmon, or go deep for cohos and Rainbows. After consulting with some other captains and learning that fishing was lean near shore, Joe chose option B and took us several kms out into the blue waters of Lake Ontario.

The first fish hit quick and was ceremoniously reeled in by the groom. Not a big fish, but the little shaker made up for it by its sheer presence and determination on the line. Catching anything right off the bat, no matter the size will put a smile on your face.

We decided to take turns and chose a batting ordered that favoured those who had not fished in several years. That said, Jamie’s Dad, Dennis, was next up to bat, and what a swing he took! The battle was on and it became clear early on that what ever was on the other end of Dennis’s line wasn’t tiny. In fact, it ended up being a beautiful 18lb rainbow trout. Quite the trophy for someone who hadn’t fished in over 10 years.

Next up was Jamie’s brother Mike who landed another respectable rainbow which led to another happy fisherman.

As much as we were bucking the normal customs of typical Bachelor Parties, we felt obligated to include a few traditions, such as the customary Cuban Cigar

The battle continued and action remained steady. Time for old Davey T to step up and take a turn.

Next up was Justin. At first, the fish didn’t want to play ball for Justin as several were lost at or close to the boat. Finally however, a small King decided to commit and made Justin’s Day. Unfortunately the little guy took some battle damage which made him a prime candidate for the cooler. Perfect size for a meal.

The author even got to take a turn. After loosing what we think was a monster to a broken line (no seriously, I promise it was huge!!!), I managed to boat a respectable rainbow trout. Surprisingly enough, this guy was my biggest rainbow so far. Actually come to think of it, it was my only wild rainbow I have ever caught!

Overall we boated about 7 fish and lost another 10 or so. Enough to keep us busy and quite the days work for a group of gents who got up at 3:30 to drive from Kingston. The experience was memorable for everyone, Most of all for the groom. He obviously had no idea what was in store for him which made the day that much more memorable.

The bachelor party continued with food and drink in downtown Toronto where great times were had by all.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage Jamie. All the best to you and your bride for the future.

I always try to get out to the Bay of Quinte for walleyes at least once a year. It doesn’t always work, and this year was looking like a trip may not be possible.

That is, until I received a call from a buddy inquiring as to my availability on the Saturday of that week. It turned out he was at a cottage on the BoQ with his in-laws and fiancée and was looking to possibly chase some walleyes. A telephone call is really all the motivation I need to get out fishing so I geared up the green machine, woke early the next day, and made a run up tp Hay Bay.

Fishing was moderate to slow, but we still managed to boat 3 nice Walleyes which we kept for the fry pan. Twas a grand old time even if it was last minute.

Cheers from the Wild

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It’s a week after bass opener, and the annual Collins Lake bass tournament is finally here. Its the day I look forward to all year, the day I can’t miss. Is it because there is money on the line? Because I get to compete with some like minded individuals? Because I get to spend 1 and a half days straight on the water with no distractions? Heck no, its because Fatima, our host, cooks up some unbelievably tasty Portuguese food, which, I get to stuff unceremoniously into my gullet. Seriously, some of the magic she pulls off could kick some serious butt on master chef Canada, or other shows of the like. Im talking as good as those tasty videos everyone seems to posts on their Facebook wall.

I could go on about the delectable Portuguese treats for paragraphs, but since this isn’t a cooking blog I’ll get down to the details of the tournament.

For those who haven’t read past posts the tournament is structured like so:

$100 entry per person

4 fish limit: 2 weighed in the first morning (with an option to cull in the afternoon), and an additional 2 fish weighed in on Sunday morning.

Live bait is allowed

We had a total of 15 participants this year, from all across the province. The weather seemed favourable, at least for a couple hours each morning, and we were a week after bass opener, which, we were hoping would lead to some calmer fish. Hoping was the key word. Unfortunately, our hopes were in vain as the fishing was slow. The fish seemed apprehensive and the bite was light. Not to mention our afternoons were ruined by some pretty significant winds. Ever try to cast a senko in 30 kph winds? I don’t recommend it.

The tournament progressed, and although weights were smaller than past years, we still had a good group of folks near the top after the first day. there was a lot of room for anyone to run away with the tournament.

My personal weight was much lower than I was used to on Collins. It seems my luck had run out a bit. I wasn’t the only one with bum luck that day. On the way into the launch we came across a boat having motor problems. it seemed like something we couldn’t fix on the water so we tied the beast to the green machine and towed it back to port. First time towing for me and the Green Machine.

Weights on the last day were nothing to brag about. most folks added another 2-4 pounds to their bag.

The winner (my uncle) finished with 9lbs for 4 fish followed by Jim at just over 8lbs, and Jody following close behind.

Congrats to the winners. Fishing conditions were tough and each of you earned it.

The blog has grown cold. Cobwebs have gathered in the digital corners of the site leaving many, including myself, sad. What the hell happened? After all I was on a role with my outings… Well, life happened, as a matter of fact. Project schedules at work, family time, etc.. Things seem to have piled up leaving little to no time for me to continue my explorations of the Wilds of Ontario. I know, boo hoo, first world problems…

Thankfully there is always bass opener. I’m pretty sure it would take a category 5 hurricane to keep me from participating in this, the holiest of holies, Bassmass! With Schedules on hold, and a solid morning carved away from any commitment, I found myself and two others headed to Loughborough Lake for some greenback action. My compadres were Dave, a regular here on WOO, and Jamie, a beginner fisherman who made his debut on the fishing scene with an 18lb rainbow trout. Talk about beginners luck! Jamie had never caught a largemouth bass prior to our trip and was eager to explore what all the fuss was about.

Loughborough was an obvious choice for a first bass outing: no tournaments there to my knowledge, great habitat for both small and largemouth bass, lots of water to cover, and the right orientation to take advantage of the southwesterly wind we expected that day.

We fished the eastern basin heading from the centre east and immediately were met with action. As luck would have it, Jamie’s Beggineer’s luck streak was still hot and he managed to catch the first fish: a healthy 1lber. All three anglers were soon into many more bass with the odd pike to boot. things had worked out exactly as I had hoped for Jamie’s first outing. Considering the conversations we’ve had since, It seems we may have another convert!

Bass opener was great. A little too great. In fact I liked it so much I decided to extend the opening weekend into Monday. Frank, another regular on WOO, was in town all the way from Pennsylvania, and was looking to target some of the local toothy critters. His visits had become something of a yearly thing but as of late, they seemed to always conflict with bad weather or my busy work schedule. The wind was up so our original plan to fish the St. Lawrence had to be revised. Big water + big wind + my small boat is not a good combination, so after a quick scouting trip to some sketchy launches, we decided to head to an old standby: Newborough lake.

After a tough start, we finally started to hook up with pike and bass.

Frank has been talking (and dreaming) and talking of connecting with a 10+ lb pike for a while now. This isn’t such a pipe dream for an outing on the St. Lawrence, but it is certainly a tall order on the back lakes around Kingston. We hammered the bays and weed edges with all manner of spinner baits in a desperate search for Frank’s elusive prize. All to no avail. However, on a long bomb cast into a weedy bay frank hooked up with what turned out to be a tank of a largemouth, weighing in at a whopping 5lbs, 1oz. Respectable for sure, and quite the catch considering we were fishing immediately after the busiest bass fishing day of the year.

This was Frank’s biggest largemouth to date, which left him happy. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it certainly left him with a smile on his face. I’m reminded of the classic rock lyric: “you can’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!” Indeed he got what he needed, a big fish, just a bit less toothy than what he was looking for.